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EDMONTON - You couldn’t call it pretentious. The new GF Diner on Whyte Avenue is tucked into a humble strip mall, next to a wig shop. The interior, bright and cheerful in shades of red and yellow, does the maximum possible with cinder block. A few paintings by local artist Jill Thomson cosy things up, but the reason people will come to this new concept is not the design of the restaurant, but its chef/owner, Ted Wolff.

As founder and former co-owner of Edmonton’s groundbreaking Kinnikininick Foods, Wolff was an early adopter of all things gluten-free, selling his handmade baked goods from a booth at the farmers market starting in the late 1980s. He was celiac at the time, had all the unpleasant symptoms, but hadn’t yet been diagnosed. Still, he responded to requests from consumers for gluten-free products at his health food booth.

Now, more than 20 years after learning to listen to his own gut, he’s branching out again to open a new restaurant — the first in Edmonton to bar gluten in any form from the establishment.

“I’ve opened a restaurant because it’s a necessity, and nobody else has stepped in,” he says when asked why he headed back into the gluten-free business.

Wolff was the president and chair of operations at Kinnikinnick from 1991 to 2005. After selling his interest to business partner Jerry Bigam, who still runs the thriving company today, Wolff spent several years working as a consultant on green energy projects, being a holistic practitioner, and writing two cookbooks on gluten-free baking and cooking under the Company’s Company brand.

But the lure of entrepreneurship is strong when you know what it’s like to build something good from the ground up. Like having a baby, one forgets the pain and pushing, and remembers only the joy of creation.

While there are plenty of Edmonton eateries offering gluten-free options, the 40-seat GF Diner (GF stands for good friends, great food, gluten-free) is what Wolff calls a “dedicated facility.”

This means nothing that enters the restaurant has even a whiff of gluten, which is a cereal protein that some people are allergic to. People who are celiac, or gluten-intolerant, can’t eat wheat, barley, rye, oats, spelt, kamut, triticale and other derivatives of those substances. Instead, they use gluten-free alternatives such as buckwheat, amaranth, quinoa, pea starch and dozens of other options.

Wolff doesn’t plan to have the GF Diner apply to the gluten-free certification program run by the Canadian Celiac Association, because he says their standards aren’t as high as his. (Indeed, a facility doesn’t have to be entirely gluten-free to earn a safe stamp from the Canadian Celiac Association.)

Wolff insists all products in his diner — from the spices to the tomato sauce — are entirely gluten-free to avoid potential cross-contamination in the kitchen, which can make people sick.

“None of the banned substances can enter the restaurant, staff can’t even bring it in their lunch, and suppliers have to have dedicated facilities,” says Wolff, who says he personally checks out all suppliers. “I don’t want to take the risk.”

But what about the food, you want to know? Wolff says his menu at the GF Diner is “carbohydrate heavy,” with an all-day breakfast devoted to waffles, french toast and pancakes — comfort foods that people with gluten-intolerance long to enjoy, but have trouble tracking down safely. The lunch menu at GF Diner, which runs in the early evening, too, offers burgers (including vegetarian) plus a line of specialty sandwiches and a good selection of sausages — all available for takeout.

There is also a kids menu. Wolff says he plans to expand his offerings as the restaurant gets going to include items such as gluten-free lasagna and other pizza and pasta dishes, plus desserts.

Also in the works are theme nights featuring Italian food, or perogies, and live music. The GF Diner will soon include a gluten-free store, also owned by Wolff and his life and business partner, Chris Reinhart. The store will sell gluten-free products, from frozen foods to artisanal gluten-free breads.

Kinnikinnick products will also be carried there, and popular gluten-free labels such as Frontier (a line of organic seasonings) and Conte’s Pasta. Wolff has built the GF Diner and the store around a franchise model, and plans to sell the concept internationally.

The GF Diner is at 10015 82nd Ave., and is open six days a week from morning until early evening. Call 780-757-8570 for more details or go to gfdiners.com.

To win a signed copy of Wolff’s Company’s Company Gluten-free Baking cookbook, go to my blog, Eat My Words, at edmontonjournal.com/blogs.

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